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Isn’t being all about yourself, the surest way that you’ll end up being all by yourself?

Her ego could stretch the shit out of the universe. The problem was with it though that it appeared to have no end. One day she asked him to admit that the majority of things in his life were about her. They weren’t, he told her that and she didn’t like it. They were doomed from the beginning, although he didn’t know it at the time. That person that makes you laugh when no one else in the world can. You need to find them, don’t you? He thought it was her but it wasn’t. He realised that he needed to fall in love with his own heart because she wasn’t opening up her heart to him.

He thought that maybe he just needed to relax, trust her and that everything would be okay. He was no Robin Hood though, he was so wide of the mark.

When we were kids, we used to trust everything that we were told. Somewhere down the line, we stopped. We questioned things. He finally questioned whether or not she was a good idea and concluded that she wasn’t.

The brain. Who knows why it believes what it believes? Neurons and synapses? Maybe it’s your heart that directly impacts what your brain thinks. 99% of the time, he wanted to believe her and the things that she said but he knew that they weren’t all true. That other 1%? It was full of hope. Idiot.

She didn’t want to know how he felt, yet, she wanted him to know everything that she felt. Selfish, right? She was mesmerising and heartbreaking all at the same time. She thought that she was being interesting to him, in every minute of every day, when in reality, she was only being interesting to herself.

They both ended up where they are. Part of him still thinks that he didn’t make a mistake about her when they met, about who she was, about who she is. He saw the heartbreak coming though but it took him a while to get out of the way.

She’s not all bad, she has a fire that burns bright. There is a heart beating behind her craziness, it’s in there somewhere. She is almost perfect. Almost. No matter how much you try to contain a fire though, won’t it always burn the way that it wants to?

He now can’t understand what hurts more, missing her, or pretending not to. He can’t tell her though, that would only stoke her ego.

She was great in parts but she wasn’t the person that he could shape his life around. He couldn’t take the chance in the end. He never ever took her for granted though, it was nigh on impossible to do so. His own pride wouldn’t allow it, call it male stubbornness. Yet, there they were, imploding right in front of each other. Evel Knievel couldn’t jump the gap between the two of them now. It’s not your job to try and change someone though, is it? Even if you could, you can’t shape someone that has no shape.

It’s alright though, isn’t it? It’s certainly okay to her because it’s about her ego. Most of the time, perhaps all of the time, it’s got to be about her. Does she even know that’s why she’s there where she is and he’s not? He would have been there though. In a fucking heartbeat. Guess what fucked it? How do you even manage to give yourself permission to think that you’re better than everyone else?

Everything became a competition and only one of them could win. It wasn’t him, he failed quite spectacularly but he’s okay about it now. Or at least he thinks he is.

Having gone through the relationship with her, it changed his outlook. He’s more aware of how he treats other people now. He has his own ego but it’s not like the world owes him anything, not like how she is. We all make assumptions, we all have biases, we all have our own ego. It’s just the levels that are different, isn’t it?

She might have been the love of his life but now neither of them will ever know. She was the one when he was no one. Now, she’s nothing. It doesn’t even bother her. Her fucking ego.

He thought that he was clever enough to make whatever decisions he wanted to make but she filled him full of doubt at the end. It turns out that meeting her and sharing the things they did has made him better though. Even although she was bad for him, she made him better for whoever comes along next.

He learned not to allow her ego and insecurities to stop him growing, to stop him doing the things that he wanted so she clearly isn’t all bad. If you can meet someone and they make you better, then it’s a positive experience, I guess.

The thing is though, when you have a love affair with yourself, you still sleep alone at night.

You hold the door open for everyone. You apologise when people bump into you. Not something that you should do, but hey ho, you do it, the right thing. It’s definitely not the wrong thing. Politeness and manners though, never bad things.

Most of us, perhaps all of us would do anything for the people that we care about. The people that we love. Whatever they need, you’re there, aren’t you? A friendly ear, a hug, a smile a word of advice? It turns out that you’re considerate of other people’s feelings. Who knew? What if they’re really struggling though? If they have issues or problems going on, are you able to be there?

It’s not always easy to have that sense of intuition though as regards their life, about what they have happening to them. You could be forgiven for not knowing that anything is going on, for not knowing that everything isn’t okay. For not knowing that they might be having a difficult period. Sometimes, perhaps all of the time, that person in your life has to reach out to you. It’s easier said than done, granted, but don’t they need to let you know that everything isn’t okay and that they need your help?

If they don’t reach out though, what can you do? Not a great deal really. The one thing that you know intrinsically though is that you will do and have done anything and everything that you could. Hopefully for a large percentage of us, that’s in our nature. It’s inbuilt hopefully.

All of that should be part of your daily make up, shouldn’t it? Be good, be kind, be nice. No games. Always.

What happens though when you really need to step up? To do anything? To be the person that the one person in your life thinks that you can be. You step up, don’t you? What happens though when it’s tougher than you think? What happens when you lose someone close to you?

Sometimes the person who tries to keep everyone else happy is always the most lonely person, so never leave them alone, because they will never say that they need you.

He was a childhood friend but then suddenly he was gone, taking with him, like everyone does, a lifetime of private and unknown dreams, experiences, fears and hopes. Again, like everyone does when they pass, he left the good parts of himself behind to everyone that he loved and cared about.

He left pretty explicit instructions about what he wanted his friends to do with his ashes after he passed. Cheeky to the end. Scatter some of them from the top of the harbour bridge in Sydney. We don’t think we hit anyone. Let some go underneath the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles. Dump some into Niagara Falls. Spill whatever is left into the East River from the Brooklyn Bridge. We might have hit people in NY, it was windy! Apologies.

He had a soulful kindness, a never-ending generosity. My heart twisted in my chest when the call came. When every fibre of your being wants to shut down, do you have a choice? Not really. You know what you have to do. Just do the right thing, despite how hard it might be for you personally. You have to suck it up, it’s not about you any more. Whatever you are asked, no question, no possibility of saying no. You’ve been in tears for days, your eyes are red, you might look like you have a thousand yard stare. Staring at yourself in the mirror is a scary thing because you don’t want to see the face that’s looking back at you. You just get on with it though. Sometimes the sadness grips you so suddenly and with so much intensity that it takes every breath you have to just keep moving. The worst part is that you can do everything to protect your heart and it’ll still get broken.

It seems that he was just nursing a new secret in a life that was already full of old secrets.

It’s been easy since to have pangs of guilt from promises that weren’t kept about keeping in touch, we’ve all been there.

The lesson learned?

Love your fucking life with all that you can give. Take photographs of everything, especially the people that you love. Tell those people that you love them on a regular basis. Talk to random strangers. Do things that you’re terrified to do, because fuck it, all of us will die one day and not many people will remember a lot of the things that we did. Take your life and make it the best story in the world. Always choose happiness. Life is too short to fuck around with negativity, pain and remorse.

Friendship is when people know every little detail about you, but yet they still like you. Isn’t it?

Simpatico. A person who is likeable and easy to get on with. Someone who is characterised by shared attributes or interests; they’re compatible.

A relationship ends. It’s the worst. It can be difficult to escape the pain, the hurt, the emotional turmoil. You have to learn to cope with it though. Easier said than done? It’s over but perhaps your heart and your brain aren’t quite ready to accept it. That’s natural.

Maybe the only way to overcome a split is by realising the fact that the relationship is done and dusted. Don’t glance back, try not to think of it, that should make it easier to move on. Right? Wrong?

During tough times and after the end of everything that you held dear, your family and friends are going to be the biggest crutches that you’ll ever need. Whilst that’s cool, what do you do? Go out and try and be the life and soul of the party? Maybe you prefer to be alone? Neither option is wrong. The one most important thing though is to give yourself some time. Absolutely, the anguish will tear you apart but what has happened, has happened.

So what now? Moving on? To be able to move on though, you need to learn to forgive him or her. Is it important too though to forgive yourself? If you were the one doing the breaking, it’s on you. Isn’t it better to remember things though as they were and move on? It has to be the same rule though if he or she did the breaking?

If either of you have made mistakes, isn’t there is always another chance for either of you? You can have a fresh start, a clean go at things.

Love can make things great and hurt all at the same time. You wouldn’t want to live without it though, would you?

Does anyone understand women? Maybe they’re just meant to be adored and treasured and never understood? Perhaps the same applies the other way?

If someone in your life loves you the way that you want to be loved, then never let them go. It ‘s easy to think though that love can be something that just happens when two people who are batshit crazy and full of lust for each other become misguided. Not true, right? It has to be something deeper.

If you’re in love, do you ever really know whether your love comes from the person you’re with, or the idea of being with them? Hopefully, it’s the former. An instant spark, a slow, lingering flame that becomes brighter? It can be easy for your brain to be confused with a new love but your emotions will never lie to you.

Intrinsically, doesn’t everyone want to really want to love somebody forever? Sometimes though, maybe you just don’t know if it’s possible to do so until the end of time. You have to keep going. Don’t you? What is the point otherwise?

Love and lust are are so confusing. Take a new boy or girl home, tell them you like them, tell them how beautiful, pretty or handsome they are. The next thing you do if you’re lucky? Turn out the fucking lights!

A new love isn’t like lights, especially traffic lights. Go for it, get ready to go or just stop? Who the hell knows but hopefully, you’ll work it out. You can probably never control who you fall in love with, it just happens, perhaps when you least expect it.

It can be confusing. It’s happened but do you always know that in your heart of hearts that it has begun? Maybe one day, you’ve been talking about someone and all of a sudden you catch yourself with a huge smile on your face? A friend might call you out on it and you blush. That has to be love. Doesn’t it?

It’s bizarre to think about how big of an impact you can have on someone or that they can have on you. Either of you don’t even have to speak. A cheeky glance. A knowing smile. Perhaps a wink. It can make the day seem brighter. Doesn’t that then become part of the reasons for the love? Will either of you ever understand or wonder just how much of you or them belongs to the other? You would fucking hope so!

Is it not the best feeling in the world if he or she smiles at you because then you know? For a fleeting second, isn’t that heart bursting stuff for you, knowing that you crossed their mind?

You need to man or woman up if you’re moving on, why be shy? Do you never wonder which hurts more, saying something and wishing you hadn’t, or saying nothing, and wishing that you had? Tough choice. Be bold though.

It is super hard to pretend to like someone you don’t, but even harder to pretend to not like someone when you really do. What is the worst that could happen? They say no. Fine, you move on. There will undoubtedly come a stage where you need to spill your feelings though. One person always has to first, that’s just the natural order of things. The worrying thing though is that it’s not telling him or her, how you how you feel that scares you. What will their response be? Just try it? It’ll be okay. Put your heart out there.

One day, you’ll look at that person and you see something different than you did the day or night before. It’s almost a switch. It’s been turned on. Now you know. The person who was just a friend is now so much more and maybe the only person that you can ever imagine yourself with.

An ex girlfriend of mine once went to a psychic. She was asked to take photos with her of the most important people in her life. Clearly, I featured in this and the psychic saw my photo and was happy to tell the then girlfriend about what she could expect from me.

The almost verbatim quote is “He’s good for you but he’s Peter Pan, he’ll never grow up”

When I heard this, I thought it was incredibly harsh. I was 24 at the time, I had a girlfriend who I loved but I also saw my friends regularly, I enjoyed a night out, with and without her, where was this coming from?

How could someone know that from one photo? I’m sceptical about the whole psychic/horoscope thing, I can’t see how anyone can guess what is in someone’s future. That said, I understand that a lot of people put a lot of faith and trust in it and I massively respect that.

How amusing is irony though? Fast forward to years later. I live on my own in a flat that I love. I have a massive television. I have music pictures on the wall. I have foreign movie posters adorning my hallway. I have a video games console. I have a MacBook. I have separate wardrobes for work clothes and casual clothes. I have bookcases on every single wall. Christ, I even have a trouserpress, it is clearly a boy pad.

More and more, I’ve thought about that day and how maybe what that psychic predicted was going to be true.

Newsflash, not true. I’ve changed my thinking and some of these things will be no more. It’s time to grow up and evolve and I’m looking to share my life with a girl who has become my best friend. Scary times, yet exciting at the same time. Holidays, house hunting, every day is an adventure.

At some point, a lot of us will have wished revenge on someone at a time in our lives. More than likely, it will be an ex girlfriend or boyfriend, an ex wife or husband, or just an ex lover.

That said, it’s never cool to harbour a grudge or to wish that bad things would happen to people, even if they have hurt you, upset you or caused you disappointment.

Karma, in Indian religions is the concept of action or being understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. According to the Jainism perspective, neither a God nor a guru have any role in a person’s karma, the individual is considered to be the sole doer and enjoyer of his or her karma and it’s fruits.

You always need to remember that what you do now will come back to you in the future. Life has that way of kicking you in the balls, of reminding you that you’re not perfect either. Karma has no menu, you get what you deserve, right? The thing is though, you don’t need to do anything to someone that has wronged you. Just sit back, get on with your life and wait for them to mess up. If you’re lucky enough to see them mess up, then that might give you a crumb of comfort. No point in revelling in someone else’s discomfort though surely? Trying to dim someone else’s light won’t make your light shine any brighter.

One day, that person will realise that you truly cared for them. They’ll miss you being around, they’ll miss you putting up with all of their imperfections. They’ll miss you not giving up on them because you loved everything about them deeply. They’ll end up regretting what they did to you, about all of the damage and hurt that they’ve caused you. Someday though, they’ll turn around to speak to you and you won’t be there waiting for them any longer. You were worthless to them but they’ll soon realise your true value when you become priceless to someone else. Karma.

Revenge shouldn’t be part of your plan, they’ll fuck themselves on their own. You could destroy them if you wanted to but why bother? Just breathe, walk away and let karma take over. Everyone’s true colours will show in time. You can be fooled initially but patience is indeed a virtue, you’ll realise eventually. Sure, it’s easy to think sometimes that you could and should be able to order karma like flowers and have it delivered to whoever you wanted to but what’s the point?

No matter how angry or sad you are at the time, your yesterdays are gone, never to come back. You could have done this, you should have done that, no point worrying any more. Your dark world ached for a splash of the sun and it’s coming. It’s karma.

If you’ve found a good person, than that’s pretty much the best that you can hope for. That’s a good thing though, isn’t it?

Is it natural to take great enjoyment out of anyone feeling bad? I don’t know but thinking ruefully today, I guess what goes around comes around.